DNA Day 5K

Our friend Bob was involved in organizing a 5K last weekend for DNA Day which is an annual event to promote getting science education into our schools.  Of course, we thought it was a great cause, so we had to help out by registering for the race.  Ian and I signed up to run in the 5K with the jogging stroller, and we also signed the boys up to run in the 100 meter kids dash after the race.  We were excited, and Evan was definitely a bit nervous.

We showed up that morning, and Bob made us really enthused about the race by telling us that there were a ton of hills on the course, oh goody.  There's nothing like pushing 80 lbs. of weight up the hills of UNC's campus.  That's ok because it was a very cute stroller-full with both boys wearing their race shirts and race numbers.  The race went well for Ian and I, meaning that we survived and managed to run the whole thing by trading off pushing the beast of a stroller.

After the race, as we recovered, they gathered all of the kids for the kids' dash.  Evan was excited and nervous and ready to go, but Ben was not really feeling it.  He was a little hungry and doesn't ever care too much for crowds, so he wasn't very thrilled.  When it came time to run the race, Ben required his mom to carry him down the course, but Evan was ready to run.  He was hamming it up for the crowds and running in circles as he headed down the course.  At the end they both got their ribbons, and Ben got a bagel which made him much happier.

Once the races were over, we headed over to a science fair which was a part of the DNA Day festivities.  It was great, Ian the scientist could take the boys around to a bunch of stations that made science accessible and fun for the kids.  They got to make candy DNA, play with dry ice, look at models of ears, watch optical illusions, and more.  I think the kids got a lot out of it.

We had a great time, and we'll definitely be heading out to do more races as a family.  However, I'm going to have to get these boys to run longer distances because we can't push this stroller for too much longer.

(Our little family and two big boys outgrowing their stroller)

(Ian escorts Evan through his race.)

(the champion)

(Ben's prize-the bagel)

(candy DNA)

(Benny soaks in a lecture on bacteria.)

(oooh, marble science)

(Evan is a water bear-Yes, we actually have a stuffed animal of this creature at home!)

Evan Graduates

Yep, you read that right-last Friday we headed over to the preschool for Evan's graduation from preschool.  It really doesn't seem like it's been three years since Evan walked in the door of Resurrection United Methodist Preschool for his first day in the 2's class, and now he's graduating and moving on to kindergarten.  Wow!

Now, I didn't think I would be sentimental at all, but when I first saw them lining up to come in the sanctuary I almost lost it.  They were all so excited and so proud, and we were all proud of them.  They did a little program, and Evan sang and did all the hand motions so well.  He's really gotten so much bigger since he would sit and refuse to sing.  After the program they all got their "diplomas" and walked out.  He kept waving at us and at one point he looked out in the audience and said "I love you, Ben!"  Love that kid!

After the graduation we all headed out for the end of the year preschool picnic complete with bouncy houses and the ever popular balloon man (whose balloons pop the minute they hit the grass).  Everyone was in a festive mood and a good time was had by all.

Congratulations to the big graduate!

(The class enters the room.  How sweet is my boy?!)

(the whole class performs)

(Evan accepts his diploma.)

(two best buds being goofy)

(Evan and Nathan...two big boys!)

Three!

So, approximately three years ago my dad was slaving over eggplant parmesan when my water broke.  Approximately three years ago, we all headed to the hospital and about 7 hours and some late night television later Benjamin James Davis was born.  On one hand it's hard to believe that that moment was that long ago, but on the other hand, I can't imagine life without him.

At three years old, Benny B. is clever, capricious, sweet, and cuddly.  In our end of the year preschool conference, our teacher commented that Ben, like his brother, is incredibly verbal for his age, even though it's hard for him to get a word in edgewise at home.  He knows all of his letters, and last night, we were reading an alphabet book and he even knew about 75% of his letter sounds, smart boy!  She also mentioned that he was pretty consistently strong in all of his academic skills.  His coloring, scissor work (why would you give Benny scissors?), and other fine motor skills are not really his favorite, but I'm sure he will get there.

Ben also has an incredible memory.  Ian was taking him to preschool one morning when he accidentally turned the wrong way at an intersection.  Immediately, Ben informed him that he was going the wrong way.  When we are driving around town, he will frequently tell me that "we have been this way last day" or "we have never been this way".  Just today, when we were in the parking lot of Lowes he was recognizing cars that looked like mommy or daddy's, and they were actually Camrys and Hondas.

He loves playing outside.  Ben is a huge fan of worms and other creepy crawlies right now.  However, he is not the most gentle child in the world.  He gets VERY upset when one of the worms that he has been clutching is suddenly in two pieces.  Eeek!  He also loves to ride his Strider bike.  It is definitely good that he has a helmet because he's a little out of control when he careens down the driveway and around the cul-de-sac.  He is also counting the days until he can start soccer lessons like his brother.  Everyday before and after Evan's soccer practice he heads out on the field and runs back and forth kicking the ball.  He can already run and dribble pretty well, I think he's going to be a good little player.

Right now, Benny is trying to give up his naps.  He thinks he doesn't need them anymore, but based on his level of crankiness when he doesn't nap, he really still needs them.  I think potty training and getting more aware of needing to go might have initiated all of this.  Boy, that kid can really get in a sour mood when he's tired.  When something doesn't go him way, he looks at you and says "I don't like this day!"  or "I don't like ANYTHING!"  I think the combination of just being at one of those stages and not getting enough sleep is really making him a bit of a grumpy gus lately.

When Sir Benjamin is happy though, he is so sweet.  He loves all little stuffed creatures or toys.  He cups them in his little hands and talks to them in a cute little voice.  He loves to hug on his mommy, and while my arms get tired sometimes, I really don't mind all that much when he wants to be carried.  While he's a little shy around people he doesn't know, he's pretty easy going with kids his own age, and loves to hang out with his best friends Anna (age 2) and Izzy (age 9).  He often tells me that he "likes all the girls".  We are in trouble when he gets to be a teenager!

I love my blond-haired, blue-eyed little three year old boy.  He completes our family, and I can't imagine life without him.  Stay tuned to find out what we did to celebrate his big THIRD birthday!

Strawberries!

We love this time of year!  Weather is warming up and the strawberries are finally ready to be picked.  The boys and I and our friends the Offenbakers couldn't miss our chance to pick some fresh, delicious strawberries, so as soon as the patch was open we headed on down.

Evan was excited and he warned me that there would be "no strawberries in his basket" because he would eat them all.  Everyone ran out into the field, and as Abby and I picked strawberries (Ian needed at least 8 lbs. for jam and pie!) the boys all joined in on Evan's fun.  By the end of the morning Quinn was the only one with a few strawberries in the basket.  However, the rest of the boys had definitely been picking berries.  Their red faces showed where all of their picked berries had gone!

(heading out to the patch)

(Yummm...)

(Yummmm.....

Yummmmm....

Yummmm.....

?????

(Boy, strawberry picking is tiring!)

Go Play Outside Now!

We love to get outside and have adventures!  Sometimes we wear ourselves out, but we always have a great time.  This spring we've been on a couple of great outdoor adventures.  It seems that big outdoor play parks are a bit of a trend right now, and we're happy to take advantage of that trend.

A few Fridays ago, the boys and I headed about 30 miles east to a place that is actually called "Go Play Outside Now".  It was a big fenced park filled with ways to play  It was one of those places that makes kids and adults alike want to play.  They had huge tube slides, a laser tag park, a few sandboxes, a track for ride on toys, a huge tire swing, and more.  The best part was, we were the only ones there!

The boys immediately ran toward the huge tube slides.  Evan really wanted to go down, but he was a bit nervous.  He actually hung out at the top of the slide for about 30 minutes before he was brave enough to slide down.  And when I say "hung" he actually hung with his hands gripping the edge of the slide and legs dangling down in the tube.  Finally, after seeing me go down about 3 times, he realized that he didn't have to go fast, and he slid down going so slowly that you really couldn't tell he was moving.  He gradually warmed up to it though and was throwing balls down and sliding after them by the end of our day.

Benny wouldn't do the slide unless he was on my lap, but as always, he found the nearest sandbox and loved hanging out there.  He found some little cars and enjoyed driving them around the sandbox.  We played the whole day away and left tired and happy.

(Evan's first cautious trip down the slide)

(Ben shows off some caterpillars that he found...again, must work on being gentle!)

(Yay for tire swings!)

(Benny the monkey climbs.)

A few weeks later, we took Dad this time and went out on another adventure.  This time it was about 30 miles north to a place that just opened called Three Bears Acres.  It was the same sort of idea-getting kids outside to play.  This time, Evan immediately headed toward the archery where his dad tried to teach him how to shoot an arrow.  He also taught the rest of us because I realized I had never shot an arrow either.  Ben quickly lost interest and headed toward the mud pie kitchen where we made all sorts of mud creations.

Next, Evan moved on to the huge "bounce pillow" where he jumped up and down with Dad.  Ben and I played with the water wall until Dad let me have a turn on the bounce pillow.  When I returned I couldn't find Ian and Ben until I turned around and looked in a huge rolling tube where they had been hiding.  After Evan did some name art on the graffiti wall we took a break for lunch at the picnic tables near the lake.

Ben was feeling a bit punky and tired by that point, but he still wanted to explore.  He wanted to check out the paddle boats.  So, we headed over, put on our life jackets, and hopped in the boat.  Evan tried his hand at steering while Mom and Dad pedaled.  Needless to say, we drove in circles for a while.  Meanwhile, Ben hung in the back of the boat and soaked up the scenery.  I think he about fell asleep in the back of the boat.  (Yes, the kid still really needs to take a nap in the middle of the day whether he will admit it or not.)

Once Ian finally took over steering, we parked the paddle boat and headed over to the fire pit to get some smores.  It was the first time Evan actually ate all of the smore parts together instead of eating each separately. Ben on the other hand, just nibbled the marshmallow, but that's okay because I got to snack on what was left.

Our last stop was a treehouse and huge slide in the woods.  Evan loved the punching bag under the treehouse.  Then, he and I moved on to the slide while Ben and Dad watched.  Again, it took Evan quite a while to muster the courage to go down which was problematic because this slide was a lot more crowded than the last one, but at last, with one final push, he slid down.  Then, we couldn't stop him from sliding down, carting his sled back up, then taking another trip down.  Meanwhile, Ben had given up and was sleeping on his Dad.  I don't think Ian minded.

The boys love getting outside, and I think this is just the beginning of a long summer playing in the great outdoors!

(Father-son lessons)

(Ben makes some mud pies.)

(Evan bounces with the crowds.)

(My boys on the paddle boat.)

(mmmm...smores)

(Daddy plays a little too.)

(Oh no, Mommy, I don't want to do this!!)

(Never mind...that was awesome!)

(That much fun is exhausting!)

What you didn't see...

Mother's Day is right around the corner, and that got me thinking.  I have adorable almost 3 and 5 year old boys that I love spending time with each day.  They get to see lots of different sides of mom. (some I'd rather them not see.)   But there's lots of moments that they don't see, lots of things that my own mom did that I'm sure I didn't clue in to.  So, that's what this post is.

Boys, in the past year filled with all of our fun, here are some of my mom activities that you may have missed...

*when I stay up late so you can have birthday Rice Krispie Treats at school

*when I peer around the brick column at school making sure you don't see me, to watch you play on the playground

*when I cry in conferences with your teachers, worried over what's best for you

*when I sneak in your rooms each night before bed to pull your covers back up, pull that arm out of its awkward position, or lift your leg back on to the bed

*when I put my hand gently on your back to make sure you're breathing or on your forehead to make sure you're not too warm

*when I pick you up and put you back in bed when you fall out while you're sleeping

*when I stare at the shelves in the toy store for what must be hours to make sure I pick out the right gift

*when I pull the mattress downstairs to sleep on the floor when you're sick on the couch

*when I cry in the dark of the hospital room in the middle of the night watching you and feeling helpless

*when I peer around the corner into the living room and smiled at you playing nicely with your brother

*when I cry (just a little) when your graduation picture surprisingly appeared in your preschool bag

*when I check out more than 10 books from the library on raising boys just to make sure I am doing it right

*when I pile your clothes that get too small into an overstuffed cardboard box to put in the attic because I can't bear to part with them

*when I hide on the other side of the kitchen island and cry because I just didn't do it right that day

*when I spend hours picking up your little toys and putting them back into their little bins in some sort of complex organizational structure that only I understand

*when I meticulously fill each little hole in the waffle with cream cheese and cut them into bite size pieces because that's how you like it

*when I pour that veggie juice into your juice cup so you make sure to get your veggies (yep, there are carrots in there!)

*when I play sock memory, trying in vain to match up what seems like a million little unmatched socks

*when I sit on the couch night after night blogging as my eyes shut so that everyone can see how adorable, smart, etc. you were

*when your dad and I are watching you, grab each other's hands, and say how lucky we are to have you

Farm Touring

A few posts ago I told you that more farm fun was coming...well, here it is!  The Piedmont Farm tour only comes around once a year, and we always really enjoy taking the kids out to check out local farms and sample some delicious local farm goodies.

We went last year and had a great time, but we didn't want to go to any of the same farms that we had checked out last time, so we had a little more trouble picking our route.  Plus, the weather looked pretty iffy on Sunday, so we didn't know whether we would get any farms in or not.  Turns out, while the weather wasn't perfect, it didn't stop us from having a great weekend at the farms!

The farm tour starts Saturday and Sunday at 1pm.  At that time, about 40 different farms in the area open their gates and we can go check out as many as we can.  So, we hopped in the car after our March of Dimes walk and headed to the first farm.

The first one we checked out was Minka Farms.  It started off with a chance to pet a goat and just got better from there.  We wandered through a field of buttercups where Evan had to stop to pick bouquets for everyone.  At the end of the field was a cow pasture where we could converse with the cows through the fence.  Benny always likes to have a good conversation with a cow.

(beautiful boy in a field of buttercups)

(Ben meet cow, cow meet Ben)

Next, we went inside the barn for Ben's highlight of the whole tour.  There were some little baby chicks that we could hold.  Now, these ones were a bit older than the ones we had met at the NC State Farm days, so they kept trying to flap their wings and get away.  Also in the barn were some baby goats that the boys could feed.  There was a bin of grasses that had been picked for that purpose and Ben kept grabbing the biggest handfuls he could find and chucking them at the poor goats.  We finally had to leave before he emptied the bucket.

(I think the chick is telling him a secret.)

(goat feeding)

At the end of the barn they had a horse that kids could take a ride on.  Ben didn't want anything to do with it, but Evan said he wanted to give it a try.  However, when it came time to try, he kept putting it off and letting other kids go first.  Hey, horses are big, and this one didn't even have a saddle.  Finally, he agreed to sit on the horse but not ride it.

(Evan sits on the horse.)

After the horse sit, Ian bought some fresh asparagus and eggs and we headed on to the next arm.  The next one was Fickle Creek Farm.  This one had a numbered trail for us to follow.  Ben enjoyed finding each number so I could read the description of what we had found.  There was a bit of walking, so there was a bit of complaining, especially on Evan's part.  That's ok, he perked up when we reached the chicken coops and we got to actually reach our hands in and find our own eggs to take home.

The final farm of that day was one called Transplating Traditions.  It was a really neat concept where they were teaching relocated Burmese farmers how to farm in the North Carolina climate.  Ian was hoping to find some of the traditional Burmese crops that they were finding like galangel, but apparently, they weren't ready yet.  By this point, the boys were done, so we couldn't go on the informative tour.  But Evan did manage to get this really cool dragon face painting.  (Don't ask about how bath time went when the dragon got smeared!)

(He LOVED that dragon!)

The next day, we were ready to head out to the farms again.  So, after church and lunch, we headed up north.  The sky was gray, and our hearts just weren't in it.  We hadn't found any farm descriptions that looked incredibly wonderful, but we figured we'd check out some while we had the chance.  Turns out, we had a really awesome day.  The rain was coming down when we arrived at our first farm, Waterdog Farms.  We were interested in this one because they actually grew herbs for herbal teas.  Turns out they also had a path down to a river which was perfect for throwing rocks in.  Plus, the forest kept out a lot of the rain and drizzle.  We sampled some herbal tea, and Ben found a worm that he absolutely couldn't part with (lots of tears). Then, we hopped in the car and headed on to our next farm.

(playing in the river)

By the time we reached the next farm, we were in better spirits.  This one was called Boxcarr Farms and they even had their own food truck which we frequently see at local events but had never tried.  We saw some chickens, pigs, and goats, but the highlight for the boys was definitely the tire swing.  What boy can resist a tire swing?  Well, not my three.  They loved it!  We also tried their pin the tail on the goat.  Evan put the blindfold on and had a great time, then Ben tried it.  He put the blindfold on and headed straight into the edge of the sign and a post at full speed.  It was so funny that we couldn't help but laugh, but poor Benny didn't think it was funny at all!  Fortunately, we could cheer him up with a little homemade lemon cake from their food truck.

A good time was had by all, and we're already looking forward to next year!

(three boys and a tire swing)

(He's in heaven.)

(Evan pins the tail on the goat.)

March of Dimes Walk

When I worked at the Hill Center we would always raise money and walk with the March of Dimes March for Babies.  It was always a fun event and we got to raise money for a good cause.  So, I reserved the date this year, and decided to create a team for my Durham blog that I write, Stir Crazy Moms.  I had grand plans of raising a ton of money and bringing in a team full of readers that I hadn't previously met.  However, it didn't quite turn out that way.  But even though I couldn't get a team of people I didn't know, it really showed me that I have some great friends.  My awesome friends all signed up and I got to walk the March for Babies with some of our favorite people!  Plus, we did manage to raise a couple hundred dollars for a great cause, so I was happy.  Take a look at my team Stir Crazy Moms that I am soooo grateful to.  Love these people!

(Most of our group before the race-Our family, Jackie, Kara, Mike, and Amy and the kiddos (Evan, Nathan, Anna, Gary, and Izzy-I wonder where Ben was in this pic!)

(Our team on the walk (from left to right)-Bob, Amy & Gary, Liz & Rip, Ian, Ben, & Anna, and Kara, Evan, & Nathan)

(The kids all gather to run across the finish line)

(Check out Rip's stylish do-he really needed a haircut and was hot during the walk.)